They said although Bangladesh Private Sector Infrastructure Guidelines (BPSIG) contain details on investment procedures, the role of private sector in infrastructure development is not enough.

The speakers said after the adoption of the guidelines some developments have taken place in several areas, including telecom, civil aviation, health and education sectors. But, they said, potentials in many other sectors are yet to be explored.

They were speaking at the seminar on 'Awareness creation for private sector infrastructure guidelines' organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in association with Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Center (IIFC).

DCCI President M A Momen presided over the seminar, while Dr Stefan Frowein, ambassador and head of Delegation of the European Commission (EC), and Md Nazrul Islam, executive chairman of Board of Investment (BoI), also spoke.

BoI Deputy Director M Enayetur Rahman, Md Bazlul Kadir , manager, transactions of IIFC, and Chowdhury Md Feroz Bin Alam, joint director (IPFF project) of Bangladesh Bank, presented separate keynote papers at the seminar.

Speaking as chief guest, Frowein underlined the role of private sector in infrastructure development and said combination between the private and the public sectors is urgent.

"First of all private sector investors should be aware of the guidelines so that they can come forward to develop the country's infrastructure. They have to learn first what they can do under the guidelines, " he said.

Infrastructure like water, sanitation, power, transport and telecommunications are the major parts for sustainable economic development of a country, he added.

Stressing the infrastructure development for economic growth, BoI chief said a private-public partnership in this sector is urgent.

The DCCI president said although the growth of GDP has reached a record 6.7 percent in the 2005-06 fiscal, the nature of poverty has also gone wider in rural and urban areas, creating socio-political tensions across the country.

"In order to overcome such problems and achieve Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG), an acceleration in the pace of the infrastructure development is essential."

He said although the government seeks more private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, in major areas like power, gas, telecom and ports, lengthy approval procedures at various stages hindered an expected and well-deserved boost.

As a result, he further said, countrymen as well as businesspeople have been facing acute problems in power, port, gas and transport sectors.